


A Song of Selkies

by NightValeian



Series: Good Omens Prompts [3]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Aziraphale Whump (Good Omens), Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Human Crowley (Good Omens), M/M, Protective Crowley (Good Omens), References to Depression, Selkie Aziraphale, Selkies, Suicidal Ideation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightValeian/pseuds/NightValeian
Summary: All Aziraphale wanted was to go home.Crowley doesn't understand why he can't.
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Good Omens Prompts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740247
Comments: 13
Kudos: 109





	A Song of Selkies

**Author's Note:**

> Filled prompt: Alternate Universe

When Anthony Crowley rolled up into the tiny seaside town in a desperate attempt to escape city life, he really hadn’t expected to find anything more than a small space to call his own and a brilliant ocean view. 

The first two days he spent in town that’s exactly what he got, but on the third day, he ended up getting a bit more than he bargained for. 

It was meant to be a simple night time trip to the beach, a time that he could get away from all of the unpacking of his flat and unwind. All he wanted to do was look at the stars. 

Unfortunately, he wouldn't have the chance to do any stargazing for when he arrived at the beach, he saw that he wasn’t alone. There was another figure standing on the beach, right at the edge of the sand where the waves of the sea rolled up to meet them. 

He couldn't see their face, but the closer he got, realization settled into his bones that the person was walking  _ towards _ the sea. 

"Hey, hey!" Crowley called out, but the person didn't appear to hear him and continued to walk forward. "Hey,  _ stop!" _

Maybe he just couldn't hear him or maybe he had a death wish because the slow, determined steps of this man never wavered. 

Crowley realized that if he stood there watching the blonde haired man walk deeper and deeper into the rising tide any longer, he would be watching this man die. 

“Oi,  _ oi! _ What the hell are you doing?” Crowley shouted and took off across the sand after him. It didn’t take him very long to slosh through the water and wet sand to grab onto this stranger’s wrist, dragging him out of the near waist deep water. “Hey! I  _ said _ , what the hell are you  _ doing?  _ Are you trying to  _ drown?” _

The man didn’t give him much of a fight, allowing Crowley to drag him back onto the dry sand. He didn’t even seem aware that he had left the water with the intensity he was staring out at the sea, cheeks shimmering with shed tears. 

Crowley wondered if he should call someone, a police officer or even an ambulance, because the man in front of him didn’t seem to be of his right mind and had just tried to walk himself into the ocean. He didn’t release the man’s arm, but merely came around his front to block his view of the ocean, searching his face for  _ some _ kind of awareness and finding eyes that were as blue as the sea itself. 

“Hey...Are you alright?” Crowley asked slowly, taking in the tears on his face. “Are you...hurt? Do you need me to call someone?”

The man didn’t say anything, but his eyes did focus on his face, staring up at him wide and sad as he spoke. 

“I could drive you home. Do you...live around here?” Crowley tried again, desperate for this man to say something,  _ anything.  _ “Can you at least tell me your name?” 

For a long time, there was no response; Crowley was nearly to the point of just calling the police and letting them take it from there, but then:

“Aziraphale…” 

It was just a fraction over a whisper and Crowley had to strain to hear it because he hadn’t expected the man to say anything at all.

“What did you say?”

“M-My name…” The blonde man repeated, voice a bit stronger the second time. “It’s Aziraphale.” 

“Aziraphale.” What an odd name for an odd man, but Crowley felt oddly pleased by the progress they were making. “I’m Anthony. Anthony Crowley.” 

“Anthony.” Aziraphale repeated slowly, nodding his head. “Hello, Anthony.” 

“Hi.” Crowley replied, managing a bit of a smile, finally releasing the other man’s wrist and taking a step back. “What are you doing here, Aziraphale? Are you alright?”

“I wanted to see the ocean.” Aziraphale said quietly. “I was feeling rather upset.” 

“Upset.” Crowley said slowly, then slowly shook his head. “Alright, well, can I take you somewhere? Home? Ah...A friend’s house? Don’t really want to leave you out here alone, soaking wet and cold.” 

“I can’t go home…” Aziraphale said sadly, eyes drifting back to the ocean for a moment before he looked back at Crowley. “But...I have a friend? I’m staying at her home.” 

“Then I’ll take you there.” Crowley said, motioning to the path that led them off the beach, to where his car was waiting. “Just give me directions, okay?” 

“Yes, of course.” Aziraphale replied, starting the walk up the path with him, though he did look over his shoulder back at the ocean one last time when they got to the car. “Thank you, Anthony.”

* * *

“There you are! I went by to pick you up, but Tracy said that you’d already left.” 

“Hello, Anthony.” 

It had been a little over a month since Crowley found a crying Aziraphale waist deep in the ocean and started up something of a friendship with him. The blonde haired man was a little odd in some senses of the word; he dressed like he came from another era and spoke the same way, but he had a heart of gold, a glowing kindness that seemed to affect the people around him. He had a very impressive collection of books, ones that were touch-worn and well loved, and he looked at food like it was the most precious thing on Earth, but his true obsession seemed to be the ocean. 

Aziraphale watched the ocean like it was some sort of siren’s call, bright blue eyes fixated on the rolling waters. He would stretch out his legs until the rolling tide could brush the bottoms of his feet, smiling wide as if completely delighted by the contact. He would sit there all day if someone let him, waiting until the tide receded and took his smile along with it.

The friend that Aziraphale had claimed to live with the night they met happened to be more than one person, an older couple, Tracy and her husband Shadwell. She'd been so excited to meet 'Aziraphale's new friend' that she didn't hesitate to welcome him inside for a cup of tea. 

One cup turned into two the longer Crowley sat and spoke to Tracy about where he'd found Aziraphale, what he'd been doing. The news didn't seem to surprise her, in fact, it seemed to sadden her. It was surprising for Crowley to find out that Tracy herself had met Aziraphale on that same beach six months prior.

_ “Between you and me, love, I found Mister Aziraphale wandering those very sands just a few months ago.” Tracy had said, voice low so that the subject of their conversation couldn’t hear them from the next room. “Poor dear. He was in such a state.”  _

_ “A state?” Crowley had asked in surprise, thinking back to the state he’d found Aziraphale in not long ago. “What kind of state?” _

_ “Oh, practically inconsolable. He was sobbing his heart out right there at the ocean’s edge, clothes a mess, and it seemed like he couldn’t even hear me when I called out to him.” Tracey said thoughtfully, shaking her head. “When I finally got through to him, he told me he wanted to go home.”  _

_ “He told me he couldn’t go home.” Crowley said with a frown. “Do you know why?”  _

_ “I’m afraid not. Whenever I ask, he gets dreadfully upset.” Tracey sighed. “I don’t mind him living here, of course, but I do hope he manages to find his way home again.”  _

Aziraphale had an anxiety about him that Crowley just couldn’t put a finger on, like he was keeping some great secret or holding a heavy weight on his shoulders. Crowley wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Aziraphale believed he couldn’t go home, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask a question he knew would make him so upset. 

“Brought you a bag of those crisps you like.” Crowley said, taking a seat on the sand beside him and offering the bag. Aziraphale’s shoes and socks were already off, replaced with droplets of water and a thin layer of sand. He’d already been here for some time. 

Aziraphale took the bag from him and offered him a weak smile. “Thank you. That was very kind of you.” He said softly, setting the bag down in between them but not making a motion to open it.

That was a red flag; Aziraphale not wanting to eat was never a good sign. 

“How long have you been here, angel?” 

“Some time, I’m afraid.” Aziraphale admitted, looking back out at the ocean with a sad sigh. “It’s a bad day.” 

“A bad day, huh?” Crowley asked sympathetically, peering at Aziraphale over the rim of his sunglasses, studying his face. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

"Have you ever heard of Selkies, Anthony?"

The change in topic wasn’t much of a surprise, but the subject was. Whenever someone got close to the issue of what was bothering Aziraphale, he would  _ always _ abruptly change the subject to avoid talking about it. Even with Crowley, whom Tracy said Aziraphale had opened up to more in the last few weeks than he ever had with her.

Aziraphale took joy in the little things in life and whatever he found joy in, he was quick to share with Crowley. From things as large as his books to even as small as seashells, Aziraphale would set them aside and bring them along to show off during their daily beach outings. 

Today, he had a book with him and with a glance at the cover, Crowley observed that it was a book of old folk tales. 

“Yeah, sure.” Crowley replied, racking his brain for all of the information he had on the subject. “The seals who can turn into people, right?” 

“Exactly right.” Aziraphale answered, fingers running absentmindedly over the cover of his book. “Do you recall how they are able to become human?”

Crowley ran a hand over his face, heaving a sigh. “They could...remove their coat or something.” He said after a moment. “They’d take off their coats when they’d come to the surface and hide it somewhere until they were ready to go back.”

“A Selkie’s coat is their most precious possession.” Aziraphale added, a hint of a frown tugging at his lips, a far off look in his eyes. “If they lose it, they aren’t able to return home and they’re stranded on land.” 

“That’s sad.” Crowley said carefully. “Not being able to go home.” 

“It is, isn’t it? It’s a terrible feeling.” Aziraphale’s voice fell to a whisper and he closed his eyes as if he were pained, toes curling into the sand under his feet. “To be so close to your home, but not being able to return. Your family not knowing where you are or what happened to you.” 

Crowley was starting to wonder if the whole Selkie thing was a metaphor for Aziraphale’s current situation, if Aziraphale was trying to tell him what was wrong without directly having to tell him. The similarities were there; a lone individual wanting to return home, but for some reason, couldn’t.

“I can’t imagine what that must feel like.” Crowley said, then blinked in surprise when he noticed a lone tear on Aziraphale’s face illuminated by the sunlight. “Hey,  _ hey _ , what’s wrong?” 

“N-Nothing is wrong.” 

“Don’t give me that. You’re crying.” Crowley said quietly, concerned, gently bumping his shoulder against the other man’s. “You don’t have to be afraid to tell me things, you know.”

“Oh, my dear, I’m not afraid of you--”

“Then tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help you.” Crowley urged. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

This seemed to take Aziraphale off guard, his bright blue eyes going wide as he turned his head to look at Crowley. He’d thought it obvious that they had developed some kind of friendship, but apparently Aziraphale had needed some kind of verbal confirmation to know it for sure. 

Aziraphale’s shoulders slumped and his head drooped forward in defeat.

"Oh, Anthony...I'm terribly sorry. I'm just feeling quite homesick today." Aziraphale admitted at last, wiping the wet streak from his face but found that another was quickly taking its place. "I'm afraid I'm missing my family terribly and...and…I wish I could just go home." 

"Why don't you?” Crowley asked. “Angel, why don’t you go home?”

"I  _ can't." _ Aziraphale choked out, the tears coming faster, his shoulders trembling as he held in the sobs he desperately wanted to let out. "H-He won't  _ let _ me." 

" _ Who _ won't let you?" Crowley asked, a touch of anger leaking into his tone. He’d never considered some _ one _ wasn’t allowing Aziraphale to return home and not only had he become angry at them, but he was also angry at  _ himself _ . His friend had been suffering, being forced from his home against his will, and Crowley hadn’t even noticed. “What do you mean he won’t  _ let _ you?”

"Oh, this is  _ ridiculous _ . I-It's all my fault anyway." Aziraphale sobbed, palms scrubbing at his eyes and the mess of tears on his face. "If I had just hidden it better or hadn't been so curious, I-I wouldn't even be in this predicament in the first place.”

"Hidden it? Hidden  _ what _ ?” Aziraphale was being honest with him at last, but he was giving Crowley absolutely nothing to go off of. Someone was keeping him from his home, he hadn’t hidden something well enough and whatever this  _ thing _ was it was the cause of it. “Aziraphale, you’re not making any…”

Crowley’s eyes went to the book in Aziraphale’s lap again, recalling the story that they’d discussed, and realization hit him hard like a punch to the stomach. 

_ Oh. _

Selkies were creatures who lived in the ocean, who wore coats that helped them go between land and sea but if they lost their coats, they were unable to return to the ocean. 

Aziraphale was a creature who loved the ocean, one who was desperate to return home but was unable to due to a mysterious missing item that he had lost. 

It hadn’t been a metaphor at all. 

"You're one of them, aren’t you?" Crowley murmured, eyes wide behind his sunglasses as he stared in wonder at the man beside him. "A Selkie."

It was absolutely ridiculous to speak those words out loud. Crowley had grown up with folklore, but he knew that the stories his mother had told him when he was a child were just that. Selkies weren’t  _ real _ , never had they ever been real. They were a fantasy, something made up thousands of years ago, and yet…

Yet here he was. Here he was, sitting on the beach beside a man he would consider to be one of his closest friends, a man who was sobbing his heart out to him about how much he wanted to go home. 

His friend, Aziraphale, a Selkie, just wanted to go home. 

"I-I know it's rather hard to believe…" Aziraphale admitted shakily, wiping at his eyes again, smearing his tears across his face. "I’m sure I sound rather crazy to you, Anthony." 

"But you're telling me the truth." Crowley said quietly. "You're not lying or making it up. It's real."

"Yes. It’s very real." Aziraphale turned his face towards him at last, a small genuine smile back in place but his eyes were still sad and damp. “Anthony, I’m terribly sorry. I-I  _ wanted _ to tell you, but I didn’t think you would believe me.”

Crowley took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he wrapped his head around the whole thing. It felt like a dream, like any moment he would wake up to go pick Aziraphale up for their daily outing only this time Aziraphale wouldn’t be telling him he was a creature of myth. 

But it wasn’t a dream, it was real, and Aziraphale was sitting beside him asking him to believe him. 

"Do you know who has your coat?"

"I do, yes." Aziraphale admitted. "I was there when he found it. I begged him to give it back, but he seemed to know exactly what it was and refused. He holds possession of my coat, therefore he has possession over me.”

That boiled Crowley’s blood. Aziraphale wasn’t a  _ thing _ to be owned, not in any sense of the word. “What a  _ bastard.”  _ He spat. “Stealing something and holding it over your head like that.” 

Aziraphale sighed, toes digging into the wet sand beneath his feet, creating little divots that soon filled ocean water. “Forgive me for saying this, but he isn’t the first human to steal a Selkie’s coat and he certainly won’t be the last.” 

“Well,  _ this _ human isn’t like that.” 

Aziraphale smiled wistfully. “I know, my dear, I know.” He said reassuringly. “You’ve been very kind to me ever since we met and I want you to know that I cherish our friendship.”

Crowley rolled his eyes fondly. “Yeah, well, it’s nice to not have to be on your own.”

“Very nice.” Aziraphale agreed. “If only I had the same kind of help with getting my coat back.”

Crowley considered that for a moment, then bumped shoulders with Aziraphale again. “I just said you’re not on your own.” He pointed out. “If you need help getting your coat back, then I’m going to help you.”

“Y-You...You what?” 

“I’m going to help you get your coat back, angel.” Crowley decided. “I’m going to help you get home.”

" _ Anthony…"  _ Aziraphale choked out, eyes filling with tears once again. “Y-You mean it? Truly?” 

“I said it, didn’t I?”

Before anything else could be said, Aziraphale had thrown his weight into him, his arms winding around his neck and hugging him tightly. Crowley lifted an arm hesitantly and carefully patted Aziraphale’s back with his hand while the Selkie’s shoulders shook with silent sobs. 

“O-Oh, Anthony,  _ thank you. _ ”

“No need for all of that.” Crowley soothed with a sigh. “We’ll get your coat back and get you home, I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are, as always, appreciated.
> 
> You can find me on [Tumblr](https://mollymauk-teakwood.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/abardknocklife?s=09)


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